


On the Twelfth Day

by Incoherentbabblings



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, No Plot/Plotless, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21991906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incoherentbabblings/pseuds/Incoherentbabblings
Summary: Tim and Stephanie give presents for the 12 Days of Christmas.  Fluffy fluff fluff.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Comments: 14
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Edit:** Updated for grammar 22nd of November 2020.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written as a request for anon on tumblr. This is just flat out cuteness. Hope you enjoy!

It had been an experiment, or so Tim had said. He’d wanted to try actually going for the Twelve Days of Christmas with Stephanie. Six gifts each, one a day, alternating until the 6th of January. He’d had enough foresight to bring it up to Stephanie back in November. She had narrowed her eyes suspiciously but had acquiesced.

“Okay, fine. But I get to decorate the flat as obnoxiously as I want?”

“Sure.”

Stephanie had been building up a steady supply of tinsel, paper, baubles and lights the whole year round. She had an excellent eye for deals, and was the most aggressive haggler Tim had ever seen. He was kind of dreading seeing what the end result would be. Tasteful festive cheer was in doubt. 

“From December first to January sixth?”

“December fourteenth,” he countered. 

“Hmph. Seventh.” 

“Deal.”

“So, we give six presents total. No more?”

“No more,” Tim prodded her shoulder then. “And no fussing over price. Buy what you can afford, I’ll do the same.”

“But that’s not –” she cut herself off, tutting and watching him, knowing he would immediately start arguing back. She was in her final year of college and part time library worker, he was on his third year of being a WE board member. Budgets were going to vary wildly. Still, she had that thing... and she had been working on...

Her blue eyes had glimmered with ideas, and she smiled.

-1-

On Christmas day itself, Tim immediately broke the agreement. They had invited Crystal to spend the day with them, to which she had agreed, but before they could sit down to the dinner Tim had obsessed and sweated over she had received a call from the hospital, requiring her to come in. Tim had flipped over his card to Stephanie once Crystal had left, in which a book voucher had fallen out.

“Tim!”

“This doesn’t count!” he’d pushed. She’d sneered, then kissed him, dropping the first 'real' gift in his lap. Holding out the first gift, Tim noted that this one was severally lumpy, and covered head to toe with tape. He ripped into it, Steph chewing her lip anxiously. Bubble wrap greeted him then, so he looked her in the eye as he continued to tug off extortionate amounts of plastic.

Two fat European robins, made of painted plaster, lay within. One wore a red and white scarf, the other a similar pair of earmuffs. Tim smiled. They were adorable.

“This us?”

“Maybe. They can sit on the windowsill. Watching over the city.”

Tim stood up and did as she suggested, the two birds looking out from the fifth floor where their apartment was. It was a dark and dank Christmas day, and as per the rules of the Gotham criminal underworld, Tim and Stephanie would have to head out in the evening. For the moment, within their overly warm apartment, with its bright lights and decorations, Tim and Stephanie didn’t mind so much. Tim squished his girlfriend’s cheeks and kissed her puckered lips.

“Merry Christmas,” she tooted, face still cradled tightly.

-2-

The day after Christmas, Alfred insisted on putting on a large family dinner for Boxing Day, whatever that was, which had resulted in the entire family being present at the manor for one meal. It had gone as smoothly as to be expected, with many a bickering, slapping and food flinging ensuing during the meal. Alfred had sighed sadly, Bruce had glared holes into the turkey and ham. Otherwise, it had actually gone fairly smoothly. 

Cassandra had insisted on ‘helping’ Stephanie open her gift of the day. Sat on the marble floor underneath the eighteen foot Christmas tree within in the entrance hall, Tim paced back and forth and Cassandra snatched the neatly wrapped box from Stephanie’s arms.

“I can open it Cass.”

She only hummed in response, ripping the paper off the reveal a cardboard box. Growing frantic at being denied Stephanie's gift, Cassandra tugged and tore and the brown tape sealing it shut, more desperate to see what was inside then Steph was.

“Oh! Pretty!” she cried out when she finally broke through. More than a little miffed, Stephanie took the box out of Cassandra's hands, huffing and puffing. Peering in, her foul mood was forgotten, and she squeaked,

“Roller skates!”

Ripping then out the box, protective paper flying, she held their weight in her hands, looking at the dark blue leather, beaming. Her head whirled upwards to Tim, and she shook with happiness.

“Put them on,” Cassandra insisted.

Tim shook his head. “Uh, maybe outside.”

“No. It’s raining. Here’s fine.” Grabbing Stephanie’s foot, Cassandra yanked her leg upwards, tugging off her fluffy slippers. Stephanie lay on the floor, more than a little taken aback at Cassandra’s aggressive man handling. Tim side-eyed the entrances to the main hall, fearful that either Bruce or Alfred would walk in at precisely the wrong moment.

Cassandra laced on the boots then pushed Stephanie’s legs down. She was smiling, but the manic look in her eyes told Tim that she was knowingly going to get them both in trouble. He sighed. The present had been for when the weather improved.

Still, Stephanie got to her feet and pushed off, rolling along the main hall with a practised grace. She stumbled every now and then, simply not used to the weight or dimension of the shoe yet. Cassandra clapped her hands in joy, hooting at Stephanie as she began to show off. Skating backwards and doing little jumps, she whirled around on the marble floor.

“Good present, Tim!” his sister exclaimed.

“I love them!” Stephanie called out.

Tim was about reply that she was welcome, but Bruce instead had appeared at the top of the stairs, and so Tim could only yelp Bruce’s name instead.

Stephanie tried to turn to see where Bruce was but lost of her footing, falling flat on her face.

Bruce watched and Tim and Cassandra rushed over to pull Stephanie to her feet. Pulling her up by an arm each, Stephanie whipped her hair back, laughing loudly.

“These are so great Tim! Thank you!”

“Welcome.”

She laughed a bit more, stumbling as she did so, feeling nervous with Bruce’s wordless gaze on her. Finally, her laughter died down, and she hung from Tim and Cass’ arms, legs splayed out in front of her, bum several inches off the floor.

“Please help me take them off.”

-3-

“My turn today.”

Tim opened up a squishy packet to find a dark blue body warmer within. He looked up at Steph. She shrugged, taking it from him and holding it up. He slid his arms in and she zipped it up. 

“You always look cold to me in winter. You don’t wrap up enough.”

He threw the hood up, which was lined with faux fur.

“Thanks, _mom_.”

“Hah!”

-4-

It was another card this time, and when she opened it, the card contained a printout of an email.

She frowned at she read it, not entirely comprehending. She looked back at the top of the page, and her mouth dropped open.

“Uh! This place is fancy. And you got a table for New Year’s Eve?”

“ _Ohhhhh_ , yeah. Who’d you think you’re dating?”

Lowering the piece of paper, she looked at their wardrobe. “I’ll need a new dress for dinner…”

Tim shrugged unhelpfully. “Maybe.”

She gulped. 

-5-

The New Year was only two days away, and Steph was sat in her usual work space, on the floor of the living room, peering at her college notes. She was honestly trying to be good, to revise over the Christmas period, but it wasn’t really going in. Honestly, she was just feeling sleepy, but in a content, happy sort of way, rather than grouchy and stiff. Blinking, she welcomed the distraction of Tim moving over to sit next to her on the rug. He was holding her gift to him. This one was much more neatly wrapped than the first, in another cardboard box.

“Any hints?” Tim asked, picking at the corners.

Steph smiled, resting a hand on her chin and her elbow on the table.

“It’s something I thought you’d maybe want to pick up again. Like you did for me with the skates.”

Tim opened the box to see a small instant camera in a bright shade of red gleaming up at him. 

“Oh! No way!”

Pulling it out, he flipped through the instructions and set it up while Stephanie watched patiently. He turned the lens towards her. She smiled with her mouth shut, and the flash lit up the room. From the top emerged the print showing Stephanie looking dishevelled, with her blonde hair in a messy bun and wearing an oversized sweater and leggings.

“Perfect,” Tim smiled at the image, reaching for a pen to date it.

-6-

“So!” Tim started, hopping over the back of the sofa. Steph blinked, looking up from the book she had bought with Tim’s voucher. A cup of tea lay untouched on the table. Tim was holding another present. “This is also for tomorrow.”

Excited at the thought of the promised fancy dinner, Steph ripped off the wrapping with fervour, and squealed at the dress that was within. She threw aside her book and sprinted out of the room to try it on.

Tim waited a painfully long minute. He stared at the tea and thoughtlessly picked it up and gulped it down.

“It fit?” he yelled.

Stephanie kicked the living room door open, having gone the whole way by putting on a pair of heels and quickly pinning up her hair. It was a green tartan dress, with a little bow on the waist and a puffy skirt. Kara had suggested it. Stephanie rocked back and forth, holding her arms wide.

“Ta da! It’s so cute! Thank you, Tim!”

Tim tried not to squeal. She did look very pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part Two will be posted before the sixth of Jan! Please leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed.


	2. Chapter 2

-7-

Fancy dinner did not occur. Or rather, they had their starter, but a certain Robin bird crashing through the crystal domed ceiling had put an end to the dinner, and they had rushed out to change and help against Mr Freeze who was having a whale of a time in central Gotham. Stephanie had slipped at one point on a mountain of ice and had bruised her spine in the fall. She lay on the sofa in the manor, Tim sat on the floor in front of her at quarter to twelve, whilst the family were out cleaning up the mess Freeze had left behind. They watched as the countdown began. Steph jolted as her memory was triggered by the sight of Gotham’s clocks.

“Oh! Tim, my handbag. I was going to give you my present at dinner. Open it before midnight! Hurry!”

He crawled over, having changed from one formal suit to his super suit to his jammies, and tugged over her little brown bag.

She watched, more nervous than she had been with any of the other gifts, worried about what he would think.

“A watch?” his voice wasn’t offended, thank God, but she still felt the need to justify.

“I just thought… I know Bruce gave you one, and you have your dad’s, so okay, maybe you don’t also need one from me. I mean it’s not as fancy…”

He kissed her, long and sweet, using whatever he could to distract her from her worries. “Fancy doesn’t matter. This is one I can wear everyday, tell people my girlfriend bought me it,” he turned just as on the tv the clock stroke midnight. “Ah! Happy New Year.”

Stephanie pressed kisses to the back of his head, his damp hair smelling sweet from the bath they’d shared earlier. “Happy New Year.”

Tim put on the watch, setting it to midnight, and kissed Stephanie again.

-8-

“Not very exciting this time I’m afraid honey,” Tim mumbled. He was buried under the bed covers, not really wiling to get up and start the day. He waved vaguely over in the direction of the wardrobe.

“Implying that I don’t love chocolates… false,” Stephanie shuffled over, settling on the bed next the lump under the duvet that was her boyfriend. Wincing with her back pain, she began to stuff her face with the selection box. She looked down at Tim and smiled.

“Timmy, open up.”

Tim poked his head out from the covers, dark hair ruffled with sleep. She popped a chocolate into his mouth, watching him smile, then disappear back under the covers.

-9-

“Catch!”

In the cave, Stephanie threw a large wicker basket at Tim, which he managed to grab hold of before it hit his head. He swayed at the weight of it. Stephanie trotted over, fully in costume, whilst Tim had yet to put in his mask. Tim turned and rested the basket on a nearby table. Opening the flaps, he went to peer in, but Damian appeared, shoving Tim out the way.

“Honey? Really Brown? You raid a farm or something?”

“Damian!” Dick pulled Damian’s judgemental look and stature away from the pair, shooting an apologetic look at them.

“He’s not totally wrong,” Stephanie sighed. “It is a lot of farm stuff. Hamper food.”

Tim began rummaging through the tissue, pulling out jars of chutney’s and jams and cheese and dried fruits. Two small bottles of beer were also nestled in.

“Steph…”

“I know the weather has been… pure shit. And there isn’t really anywhere we can go but…”

“We can go to SanFran,” Tim looked at her, eyes smiling. “Next weekend, before college starts up again. Conner says it’s been dry. Not warm. It never really is over there but…” he trailed off and looked at Steph, still facing forwards. “You’ve never spent more than a night at the tower have you?”

“No.”

“Well you have right to. It’ll be nice!” He squeezed her hand reassuringly at her nervous look. “This is really sweet Steph, thank you.”

“You can thank Conner and Kara, half this stuff is from Kansas!”

-10-

The Fourth of January was more than a little stressful, Tim had had an awkward conversation with both Crystal and Bruce (and Alfred, hovering like a bee) which had led to Dick swamping Tim in the manor corridors.

“Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii know what you’ve done! Gonna tell Cass!” He sang, smiling so broadly that Tim became faintly petrified of Dick’s teeth being put on display. Immediately alarmed, he began to slap Dick on the arms, legs, and gut, as if that would shut him up.

“What do you know?” Tim hissed. Dick just laughed and sprinted away. Tim gave chase, throwing himself onto his elder brother’s back. He clung tight and began to tug at Dick’s perfectly curled hair. “How did you find out? What are you? Psychic?”

“Just nosy!” Dick spun in a circle bent in half, Tim hanging off his back like a monkey.

“Don’t say anything!” Clinging tight and trying to choke Dick from behind, Tim entered a blinding panic. _No-one was supposed to know!_

“Oh, come on! You have so little trust?”

“That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said, and you know it!”

“Who’s dumb?” 

Steph appeared out of Cass’s room, several strings of strawberry laces hanging from her mouth being chewed obnoxiously, curious at the racket. Tim leaped off Dick’s back like he was made of fire.

“Nothing! C’mon, I was grabbing you for your present.”

Stephanie smiled, shoving the rest of the candy into her mouth. Waving goodbye to Dick, who waved glibly back, Tim watched with horror as he snuck into Cassandra’s room, no doubt to gossip. 

Goddammit.

Pulling her into his room, Tim rushed to the bed, then held out a large picture frame, nearly as wide as his arm berth. She took it gratefully and looked at the collage Tim had compiled. It was many candids and posed shots of her, Tim, their friends and family. From them aged fifteen, to photos Tim had taken just the other day with his new camera, it was their lives together compiled into one frame. There was a gap of about two years in their mid-teens, but otherwise, it was all their history in one frame.

She set it back down on Tim’s bed. Pointing at one image of them when they were younger, their cheeks pressed together, Tim half out the frame, but they looked so young, so fresh.

“That’s mine. I had a bunch posted above my bed… Did you take them?”

“I ‘borrowed’ them, made copies for this. Your mom helped.”

Stephanie nodded approvingly. “Ahhhh, I see. Going behind my back now is she?”

“Oh, how the tables have turned,” Tim teased.

Stephanie huffed, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. “This is unbearably sentimental Tim. Thank you. But just wait until tomorrow.”

-11-

Tim had been hurt this time. A sprained ankle which had swollen up to an impressive size. He’d hurt it catching some poor kid jumping out of a building to escape a fire. The Alfred endorsed _rice_ treatment had ensued. Rest, ice, compression and elevation. It as an old rule, but it was one Alfred stood firmly by. Tim had dozed off, waiting for Stephanie to return from patrol. Their plans to go to San Francisco had been delayed, since Tim was going to need the week to recover. Stephanie had tried not to let her disappointment leak through. These sorts of things were bound to happen, and it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Not truly. 

She stared at a sleeping Tim, his skin looking warm in the lamp light. She then looked down at the package in her hand and decided to unwrap it for him. This one she had been working on for over a month, and it had become increasingly tricky to hide it from Tim due it’s ever growing size.

Unravelling the hand knitted blanket, she sat down on the sofa next to Tim, and spread it over them both. Tucking it under his chin, she settled into his side, and shut her eyes.

When Tim started awake later from a vague and fuzzy nightmare, he woke to the rain on the windows, the room softly lit, and his girlfriend resting at his side. His foot had flopped down off the table when he had jerked, so wincing he raised it once more to the table. Noticing then the blanket she had thrown over them, Tim picked absently at the thread, noticing almost immediately that this was a new one, and although it was neat, it wasn’t as uniform as what a machine would do.

He knew she had been working on something. He’d seen the receipts from different craft shops across Gotham, but he’d assumed it was something for herself, or maybe the other Batgirls. 

The blanket was a deep gem blue, and as large as the sofa. Not only that, but it also wasn’t just one large square. She had done different stitches along the rims and even a circular pattern in the centre. She had worked extremely hard on this, in between college and Batgirl-ing and Stephanie Brown-ing.

Tim shifted his arms, wrapping them tight around Stephanie under the fabric. She sighed happily in her sleep and nuzzled into his chest.

“Love you,” he murmured.

Even in sleep, Stephanie smiled. 

-12-

Taking down the decorations was always intensely depressing. It meant there was no more twinkling lights or shiny paper to catch the winter light (what little there existed of it in Gotham). No, now the grim winter had truly begun.

Tim was still sat on the sofa, carefully wrapping the decorations in tissue and bubble wrap. Amongst them was Steph’s first gift of the robins. He stared at the chubby pair hard, then set them aside. They could stay out until Spring at least. He occasionally side glanced at Stephanie getting into an argument with two sets of Christmas lights. One set she was wearing on her head and shoulders, the other tangled around her arms and outstretched legs on the floor. She huffed and puffed and cursed. He tried not to laugh, as that might have set her temper off properly, which was the last thing he wanted for today.

“Tim? Change the music? The bass is too much and…” and she continued to grumble to herself, tugging unnecessarily hard on to lights that had crossed over each other and gotten tangled.

Tim called for his speaker to switch radio stations, flipping to a classical music channel. To his relief, it was playing a soft piano tune, and Stephanie’s grumbling lessened in response. 

They worked in silence for a moment, and Tim was struck by how peaceful it felt, how domestic. Safe. 

Putting the lid on one of the storage boxes, Tim noticed his hands were shuddering. His nerves were kicking in.

“Stephie? Can I borrow you for a sec?”

Always weak to him calling her that, and somewhat relieved to be distracted from the lights, she leaped upwards. “Is it your ankle? Need a cold press?”

“No, no. Just, can you swap the boxes for me? Done with that one.”

She did as she was bid, but before she could replace the box with an empty one on the seat, Tim tugged her down.

Thinking he wanted a kiss, she swiftly leaned in for a smooch.

Not wanting to jostle his foot too much, she clambered onto him, finding she was sorely needing an unscheduled make out session to vent her stress. 

She felt his hands twitch. One held her neck, the other had drifted downwards, fumbling around his hoodie.

“Steph,” he broke away, bringing his hand up to her cheek. He suddenly looked horrendously nervous, which only served to make Stephanie on edge. He gulped, then squeezed his other hand in between their chests. “Steph… your last present… you don’t have to say yes, if you don’t want to, you’re not ready, or… or if you don’t feel the same way…” The sadness that permeated his expression broke her heart as she began to understand what was happening. What the point of the twelve days of Christmas gift exchange was for. A ploy really, a stinkingly sweet plot.

Tim popped the tiny black box open to reveal an engagement ring. It was one of those rings that looked like it were three, crossing over in the middle, one filled with round diamonds, the other rubies, the final a plain band of white gold. Stephanie had pianist’s fingers, long and thin with bumpy knuckles, and Tim had spent an embarrassingly long time deciding what would look good on Stephanie. When he had spoken to Crystal the other day, to try and be good as ask her permission, Crystal had only pursed her lips at the sight of the ring, face giving nothing away. She did say yes to Tim asking, so that was something. The very same day he had also spoken to Bruce, for whatever reason Tim couldn’t recall. Just a small part of him that still craved Bruce’s approval, which, to Tim’s utter shock, he had given.

He had done one thing though, which had ticked Tim off at the time. Bruce had _hummed_ at the sight of the ring and suggested that Tim could have gone bigger. Tim must have looked so offended that Bruce quietly corrected himself and said it would probably do. Tim was old enough now to know when Bruce was being deliberately cruel and when he had just put his foot in it. The guilty look on Bruce’s face suggested the latter and Tim tried to quell his feelings of inadequacy. 

Now, with Stephanie’s eyes growing wet and her mouth smiling, he thought the ring was indeed fit for purpose.

“Will you marry me?” he asked.

Tears dropped down her cheeks, and her eyeliner began to run horribly.

“You want to marry me? For real?”

God, they were both insecure as anything. Tim had been petrified of the concept of her saying no, she had seemingly not expected him to ever ask, to even _want_ to ask. 

“Stephie, I wouldn’t… I do. For real.”

“Me too!” she sobbed. She nodded again and again. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Tim fumbled taking the ring out of the box, sliding it onto her finger. He struggled a bit at getting it past her lower knuckle, but once it got past it fit neatly around her ring finger. Stephanie laughed, tilting her hand in the light to see it glitter. More tears dripped down her face, then she kissed Tim once more, happier than she’d ever been.

“Rubies?” she asked, pressing their foreheads together

“Thought amethysts might be too on the nose.”

“Red for you then?”

“For Robin. Both of us.”

Another kiss. “Utter charmer,” she murmured, settling in on his lap. Tim picked up her hand, and began fiddling with her finger and ring, smug as anything that she was wearing it. That she had said yes. 

“Last day to say it Tim… Merry Christmas.”

“Heh. Merry Christmas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope 2020 is good to you all!


End file.
